A 56-year-old South African woman dubbed 'Lion Mama' after stabbing three men who were gang raping her daughter has been told she will face no charges (file image)

A mother who stabbed a sex beast to death and seriously injured two others when she caught them gang raping her daughter in South Africa has been told she will no longer face a murder charge.

Prosecutors revealed that two other charges of attempted murder have also been dropped after ruling that there was no realistic chance of a successful prosecution.

The woman, 56, was dubbed 'Lion Mama' for running 3km with a kitchen knife before stabbing all three attackers until they collapsed after being told of the attack by a teenage relative of one of the men.

The mother then comforted her daughter until police arrived, before finding herself under arrest and facing charges.

That led to a huge public backlash and a campaign to fund her legal fees.

Two lawyers even offered their services for free to defend the woman - who cannot be named because her daughter is the victim of a sexual crime - after the incident in September.

Yesterday at Lady Frere Magistrates Court in Eastern Cape province the National Prosecuting Authority announced that all charges against her were being officially dropped by the state.

NPA spokesperson Luxolo Tyali told News24: 'The docket was referred to the senior prosecutor and based on the evidence in the docket she declined to prosecute the case against the woman'.

She confirmed there was not thought to be any realistic chance of a guilty verdict.

The two surviving men have been charged with rape and will be in the same court on Wednesday.

Speaking about the horrific ordeal, the mother said she was alerted to the attack by an 18-year-old cousin of the rapist who was killed.